http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/arts/07eve.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1191870080-coWZESlvhrZqXWze69bNLw)

I hope that democracy really does take root in this terrible wasteland, where scamming and pyramid schemes are tolerated and even encouraged. The endless warfare and war crimes, as well as unexcusable government corruption...is terrible. Just terrible.

Plus, their currency exchange rate is so low, it's desipicable. $0.0000000549=1 ISK. Hyperinflation continues at a rapid pace. Poverty is at an all-time high. The online community has just hired a economist (http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/21/0140201&tid=209) in order to help deal with the crisis, but is it a case of "too little, too late"?

I hope Freedom House brings a report on them. Maybe there should be some UN intervention to end the violence. I mean, it has to be a big issue, the New York Times covered it.

Hilmar Petursson, CCP’s chief executive, said, “Perception is reality, and if a substantial part of our community feels like we are biased, whether it is true or not, it is true to them. Eve Online is not a computer game. It is an emerging nation, and we have to address it like a nation being accused of corruption. A government can’t just keep saying, ‘We are not corrupt.’ No one will believe them. Instead you have to create transparency and robust institutions and oversight in order to maintain the confidence of the population.”

http://news.filefront.com/ccp-to-hold-ombudsman-elections-for-eve-online/)

seriously, people take their MMOs way to seriously.

seriously, people take their MMOs way to seriously.

I disagree. I think that MMO's allow social experimentation without far-reaching real world repercussions. Examples like this exemplify the workings of a democracy, and other avant-garde styles of "government," like the adhocracy, can be implemented in an online world.

I like to think of MMO's as social experiments.

^True, but it becomes a problem when its not just an experiment, but a life. Not much point if nothing comes of it. Lol, this is pretty interesting though.

Examples like this exemplify the workings of a democracy, and other avant-garde styles of "government," like the adhocracy, can be implemented in an online world.

Prehaps more conterverisally, it allows for evil/immoral actions to be experimented on in a social setting without any real-world repercussions. For example, from "minor" actions such as killings and PvP (which have very little punishments compared to real life) to major actions such as scamming, greifing, diease spreading, properganda warfare, etc.

However, that can only become acceptable when people stop seeing them as games/"glorified" chatrooms and more as labs, and people are willing to consent to experience the darker aspects of humanity.

WTS Giant Mallet of STABBITY DEATH 40K OBO

edit:
I like to think of MMO's as social experiments.
lol, social experiments. with spoiled 12-year old foulmouthed hellions as your guinea pigs.

WTS Giant Mallet of STABBITY DEATH 40K OBO

edit:

lol, social experiments. with spoiled 12-year old foulmouthed hellions as your guinea pigs.

those foulmouthed hellions(I'm not disagreeing with you on that point) DO represent the future of the human race. Maybe they'd learn something? <= yeah, it's a long shot.

I disagree. I think that MMO's allow social experimentation without far-reaching real world repercussions. Examples like this exemplify the workings of a democracy, and other avant-garde styles of "government," like the adhocracy, can be implemented in an online world.

I like to think of MMO's as social experiments.

Yes, if the people were able to establish it within the gameworld, so as far as this measure would go, I would support it to the extent of preventing the game developers/people with access to game coding in the company, from twisting things to support themselves.

I wouldn't however, want an oversight committie enforcing democracy. If a dictatorship gets setup ingame without game developers interfering, then it's proof of human nature and all things will take their turn just as they have in history.

right, but if I'm not mistaken there was an element of interference from the developers, and the oversight committee was supposed to ensure that the developers were unbiased. I'd say that is not so much enforcing democracy as it is preserving a more or less even playing field for all factions.